Improvement in harvesters



A., 1. SWEENEY.

Improvement in Harvesters. No.131,13l1.

Patented Sep. 3, 1872.

UNITED S'rA'rEs PAfrENr OFFLCE.

ANnREw J. swEENEY, or WHEELING, wEsr VIRGINIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 131,]134, dated September 3, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW J. SwEENEY, of Wheeling, in the county of Ohio and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harvesters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of the coupling and the parts connected therewith; Fig. 2, a bottom plan view ot' the coupling; Fig. 3, a longitudinal vertical section of the coupling; yand Fig. 4, an end elevation ofthe same.

lSimilar letters of reference in the accompanying drawing denote the same parts.

The object of this invention is to improve the construction of the superior reapers and mowers 7 manufactured by the Superior Machine Company,7 at Wheeling, West Virginia, and elsewhere; and to this end the invention consists in the construction of the coupling, as I will now proceed to describe.

In the accompanying drawing, A is the tinger-bar; B, the knife; C, the pitman that operates the knife; D, the crank-wheel that drives the pitman F, the leading wheel; and E G H, the parts to which my improvement more immediately relates, said parts consisting ot the hinged supportin g-plate G, to which the tin gerbar is attached; the large coupling-plate H, pivoted at its inner end so that its outer end, supported by the leading wheel, can rise and fall in passing over uneven ground; and the connecting-plate or joint E, which unites the parts G H and allows the edge of the cutter to be inclined down or up at will, by means of a lever, L. My improvement relates more especially to the construction of the plates E H, by which the two are adapted to be coupled together. The plate E is made in haltl annular form, as shown in the drawing, and mounted upon the end ofthe coupling-plate H, the crosssection of the latter being. likewise a half circle at that point. The plate H is made with an internal half-annular flange, h, which fits accurately into an external groove, e, upon the plate E. The two parts are connected together, as shown in Fig. 3, andwhen thus connected are prevented from disconnection by a flange, e', which projects from theplate E over the edge of the plate H and locks the parts together, as will be readily understood. By half rotating the plate E it becomes detached from its bearings and separated from the plate H.

In constructing the machine the part E is connected to the part H and the swinging plate G attached. The pitman is then extended through the opening between the parts E G and articulated directly to the cutter by means of lugs formed thereon. The parts E G, being only half round, allow the cutter and finger-bar to rest at their proper distance from the ground without interfering with the direct connection between the cutter and pitman. The lever L, stepped in a socket made in the coupling-plate E, extends upward and backward to a position convenient for the driver to grasp-it with his right hand, and may be arranged in connection with a rack-plate'or a plate with slots and pins, by which it can be secured and held in any position that the driver may wish. f

rlhe improved construction shown in my present invention renders the coupling apparatus lighter and neater in appearance without impairing its strength, uniting the cutter to the pitman in such a manner as to bring the draft in a straight line from the end of the cutter to the crank-wheel, and allowing prompt and ready elevation or depression of the fingers, at the will of the driver.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- The half-annular plate E, hinged to the supporting-plate G, and carrying the operatinglever L, when held and articulated upon the hinged coupling-plate H by means of the top iiange e', and the internal half-annular ange.

h upon the coupling-plate ttin g into a corres'pondingexternal groove, e, in the plate E, substantially as described, for the purpose specilied.

A. J. SWEENEY.

Witnesses J. M. LArsHLEY, J. F. SWEENEY. 

